Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $4.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,581,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,504. The business's fifty day moving average is $469.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.14. The stock has a market cap of $113.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -201.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.